Transmitting wake-up signals for paging operations

ABSTRACT

A base station is configured to transmit wake-up signals to a user equipment to wake-up the UE to receive a page from the base station. The base station transmits one or more synchronization signals, wherein the synchronization signals correspond to a wake-up signal (WUS) that is to be transmitted to a user equipment (UE) operating in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, wherein the paging DRX cycle includes a paging occasion (PO) and transmits the WUS to the UE during a WUS occasion, wherein the WUS indicates whether the UE is to utilize an active mode or a sleep mode during the PO.

BACKGROUND

A user equipment (UE) may be configured with a paging cycle thatincludes a scheduled time window during which the UE is to monitor forpaging. Outside of the scheduled time window, the UE may have theopportunity to sleep and conserve power. Under conventionalcircumstances, the UE monitors for paging during the scheduled timewindow regardless of whether a paging transmission intended for the UEis actually performed by the network. This is an inefficient use of theUE's limited power supply. Accordingly, there is a need for a mechanismthat mitigates the inefficient power consumption associated with pagingreception at the UE.

SUMMARY

Some exemplary embodiments are related to a method performed by a basestation. The method includes transmitting one or more synchronizationsignals, wherein the synchronization signals correspond to a wake-upsignal (WUS) that is to be transmitted to a user equipment (UE)operating in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, wherein thepaging DRX cycle includes a paging occasion (PO) and transmitting theWUS to the UE during a WUS occasion, wherein the WUS indicates whetherthe UE is to utilize an active mode or a sleep mode during the PO.

Other exemplary embodiments are related to a base station having atransceiver and a processor. The transceiver is configured tocommunicate with a user equipment (UE). The processor is configured toperform operations that include transmitting one or more synchronizationsignals, wherein the synchronization signals correspond to a wake-upsignal (WUS) that is to be transmitted to the UE operating in a pagingdiscontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, wherein the paging DRX cycleincludes a paging occasion (PO) and transmitting the WUS to the UEduring a WUS occasion, wherein the WUS indicates whether the UE is toutilize an active mode or a sleep mode during the PO.

Still further exemplary embodiments are related to an integratedcircuit. The integrated circuit includes circuitry configured totransmit one or more synchronization signals, wherein thesynchronization signals correspond to a wake-up signal (WUS) that is tobe transmitted to the UE operating in a paging discontinuous reception(DRX) cycle, wherein the paging DRX cycle includes a paging occasion(PO) and circuitry configured to transmit the WUS to the UE during a WUSoccasion, wherein the WUS indicates whether the UE is to utilize anactive mode or a sleep mode during the PO.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary network arrangement according to variousexemplary embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary user equipment (UE) according to variousexemplary embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary timing diagram for a wake-up signal (WUS)occasion according to various exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows a method for WUS and paging reception according to variousexemplary embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasionand a paging occasion (PO) when one WUS is configured to control one POfor one paging group according to various exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasionand a PO when one WUS is configured to control multiple POs for onepaging group according to various exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasionand a PO when one WUS is configured to control one PO for multiplepaging groups according to various exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasionand a PO when one WUS is configured to control multiple POs for multiplepaging groups according to various exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasionand a PO when multiple WUS occasions are configured to control one POaccording to various exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference tothe following description and the related appended drawings, whereinlike elements are provided with the same reference numerals. Theexemplary embodiments relate to using wake-up signaling between anetwork and a user equipment (UE) in conjunction with a pagingmechanism. As will be described in more detail below, the wake-upsignaling may allow the UE to mitigate the inefficient power consumptionassociated with conventional paging techniques.

The exemplary embodiments are described with regard to a UE. However,reference to a UE is merely provided for illustrative purposes. Theexemplary embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component thatmay establish a connection to a network and is configured with thehardware, software, and/or firmware to exchange information and datawith the network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used torepresent any electronic component.

The exemplary embodiments are also described with regard to the networkbeing a fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) network. The 5G NR networkand the UE may utilize a paging mechanism that incorporates a wake-upsignal (WUS). However, any reference to the 5G NR network, a particularpaging mechanism or a WUS are merely provided for illustrative purposes.The exemplary embodiments may apply to any type of network that utilizeswake-up signaling in conjunction with any appropriate type of pagingmechanism.

Paging may be used for any of variety of different reasons. For example,when camped on a cell of the 5G NR network, the UE may receive a pagingmessage that is configured to trigger the UE to transition from a radioresource control (RRC) idle state or RRC inactive state to an RRCconnected state. In another example, paging may be used by the networkto indicate a system information change. In response to this indication,the UE may subsequently acquire the updated system information. In afurther example, paging may be used to indicate an emergency message(e.g., a commercial mobile alert system (CMAS) message, an earthquakeand tsunami warning system (ETWS) message, etc.). In response to thisindication, the UE may subsequently acquire the emergency message. Theabove examples are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments inany way and are merely provided to illustrate why the network and the UEmay utilize a paging mechanism.

On the network side, a paging transmission may include a paging messageand/or a short message. Those skilled in the art will understand that apaging message may be used for the notification of one or more UEs andmay be transmitted via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or anyother appropriate type of physical control channel (PCCH). Those skilledin the art will also understand that a short message may be used toprovide the UE with a particular type of indication such as a systeminformation modification or an emergency message. The short message maybe transmitted on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), with orwithout an associated paging message, using the short message filed indownlink control information (DCI).

On the UE side, paging reception may include monitoring for pagingduring a scheduled time window. For example, during a discontinuesreception (DRX) cycle, the UE may be configured with a paging occasion(PO). The PO may include a one or more time slots during which the UE isconfigured to listen to a communication channel (e.g., PCCH, PDSCH,PDCCH, etc.) for a paging transmission. The PO may be included in apaging frame (PF). The PF may refer to a radio frame that includes oneor more paging occasions. Those skilled in the art will understand howthe timing for a PF and PO may be configured.

The DRX cycle is a power saving mechanism that includes utilizing anactive mode of data exchange processing and a sleep mode of inactivity.Within the context of paging, the active mode of data exchangeprocessing may refer to the UE performing operations that enable the UEto receive information and/or data broadcast by the network. Forexample, during a PO, the UE may enter the active mode of data exchangeprocessing to monitor for a paging transmission. Outside of the PO, theUE may have an opportunity to utilize the sleep mode of inactivity andconserve power. Throughout this description, the terms “DRX cycle” and“paging cycle” may be used interchangeably. However, any reference to aDRX cycle or a paging cycle is merely for illustrative purposes,different networks may refer to similar concepts by a different name.The exemplary embodiments may apply to any scenario in which the UEtransitions between a power saving mode and an active mode with regardto data exchange processing.

Under conventional circumstances, the UE may wakeup during one or morePOs regardless of whether a paging transmission is performed by thenetwork during the PO. However, utilizing an active mode of dataexchange processing during a PO that does not include a pagingtransmission intended for the UE is an inefficient use of the UE'slimited power supply. As will be described below, the exemplaryembodiments may allow the UE to omit utilizing the active mode of dataexchange processing during a PO if there is no paging transmissionintended for the UE during the PO.

The exemplary embodiments relate to utilizing wake-up signaling betweenthe UE and the network in conjunction with a paging mechanism.Throughout this description, the term “wake-up signal” or “WUS” mayrefer to a signal transmitted by the network to the UE that includesinformation regarding a subsequent time window during which the UE is tomonitor for paging (e.g., a PO). The WUS may allow the UE to mitigatethe inefficient power consumption associated with conventional pagingtechniques. For example, the WUS may indicate that a paging transmissionis not scheduled for a subsequent PO. During the subsequent PO, the UEmay remain in the sleep mode of inactivity instead of waking up to usethe active mode of data exchange processing because the WUS indicatedthat there is no paging transmission scheduled for this PO.

In one aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to the timingrelationship between the WUS and its corresponding PO. As will bedescribed in detail below, there are various exemplary configurations ofone or more WUS and one or more PO that may be implemented. In anotheraspect, the exemplary embodiments relate the types of contents that maybe included in the WUS and how the UE may respond to the WUS. Theexemplary wake-up signaling may be used in conjunction with currentlyimplemented paging techniques, future implementations of pagingtechniques or independently from other paging techniques.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary network arrangement 100 according to variousexemplary embodiments. The exemplary network arrangement 100 includes aUE 110. Those skilled in the art will understand that the UE 110 may beany type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via anetwork, e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers,smartphones, phablets, embedded devices, wearables, Internet of Things(IoT) devices, etc. It should also be understood that an actual networkarrangement may include any number of UEs being used by any number ofusers. Thus, the example of a single UE 110 is merely provided forillustrative purposes.

The UE 110 may be configured to communicate with one or more networks.In the example of the network configuration 100, the network with whichthe UE 110 may wirelessly communicate is a 5G NR radio access network(RAN) 120 and a WLAN 122. However, it should be understood that the UE110 may also communicate with other types of networks (e.g. 5G cloudRAN, LTE-RAN, legacy cellular network, etc.) and the UE 110 may alsocommunicate with networks over a wired connection. With regard to theexemplary embodiments, the UE 110 may establish a connection with the 5GNR RAN 120 and/or the WLAN 122. Therefore, the UE 110 may have a 5G NRchipset to communicate with the NG-RAN 120 and an ISM chipset tocommunicate with the WLAN 122.

The 5G NR RAN 120 may be a portion of a cellular network that may bedeployed by a network carrier (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile,etc.). The 5G NR RAN 120 may include, for example, cells or basestations (Node Bs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, eNBS, gNBs, gNodeBs, macrocells,microcells, small cells, femtocells, etc.) that are configured to sendand receive traffic from UEs that are equipped with the appropriatecellular chip set. The WLAN 122 may include any type of wireless localarea network (WiFi, Hot Spot, IEEE 802.11x networks, etc.).

The base station (e.g., the gNB 120A) may include one or morecommunication interfaces to exchange data and/or information with campedUEs, the corresponding RAN, the cellular core network 130, the internet140, etc. Further, the base station may include a processor configuredto perform various operations. For example, the processor of the basestation may be configured to perform operations related to paging andthe exemplary wake-up signaling described herein. However, reference toa processor is merely for illustrative purposes. The operations of thebase station may also be represented as a separate incorporatedcomponent of the base station or may be a modular component coupled tothe base station, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware.For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry toreceive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals andother information. In addition, in some base stations, the functionalityof the processor is split among two or more processors such as abaseband processor and an applications processor. The exemplaryembodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurationsof a base station.

Those skilled in the art will understand that any association proceduremay be performed for the UE 110 to connect to the 5G NR RAN 120. Forexample, as discussed above, the 5G NR RAN 120 may be associated with aparticular network carrier where the UE 110 and/or the user thereof hasa contract and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card). Upondetecting the presence of the 5G NR RAN 120, the UE 110 may transmit thecorresponding credential information to associate with the 5G NR RAN120. More specifically, the UE 110 may associate with a specific cell(e.g., the gNB 120A). As mentioned above, the use of the 5G NR RAN 120is for illustrative purposes and any type of network may be used. Forexample, the UE 110 may also connect to the LTE-RAN (not pictured) orthe legacy RAN (not pictured).

In addition to the networks 120 and 122 the network arrangement 100 alsoincludes a cellular core network 130, the Internet 140, an IP MultimediaSubsystem (IMS) 150, and a network services backbone 160. The cellularcore network 130 may be considered to be the interconnected set ofcomponents that manages the operation and traffic of the cellularnetwork. The cellular core network 130 also manages the traffic thatflows between the cellular network and the Internet 140. The IMS 150 maybe generally described as an architecture for delivering multimediaservices to the UE 110 using the IP protocol. The IMS 150 maycommunicate with the cellular core network 130 and the Internet 140 toprovide the multimedia services to the UE 110. The network servicesbackbone 160 is in communication either directly or indirectly with theInternet 140 and the cellular core network 130. The network servicesbackbone 160 may be generally described as a set of components (e.g.,servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a suite ofservices that may be used to extend the functionalities of the UE 110 incommunication with the various networks.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary UE 110 according to various exemplaryembodiments. The UE 110 will be described with regard to the networkarrangement 100 of FIG. 1 . The UE 110 may represent any electronicdevice and may include a processor 205, a memory arrangement 210, adisplay device 215, an input/output (I/O) device 220, a transceiver 225and other components 230. The other components 230 may include, forexample, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery thatprovides a limited power supply, a data acquisition device, ports toelectrically connect the UE 110 to other electronic devices, etc.

The processor 205 may be configured to execute a plurality of engines ofthe UE 110. For example, the engines may include a WUS engine 235. TheWUS engine 235 may be configured to perform operations associated withdetecting a WUS and determining the contents of the WUS. The WUS engine235 may be further configured to control the paging reception behaviorof the UE 110 in response to receiving a WUS.

The above referenced engine being an application (e.g., a program)executed by the processor 205 is only exemplary. The functionalityassociated with the engines may also be represented as a separateincorporated component of the UE 110 or may be a modular componentcoupled to the UE 110, e.g., an integrated circuit with or withoutfirmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include inputcircuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process thesignals and other information. The engines may also be embodied as oneapplication or separate applications. In addition, in some UEs, thefunctionality described for the processor 205 is split among two or moreprocessors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor.The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or otherconfigurations of a UE.

The memory 210 may be a hardware component configured to store datarelated to operations performed by the UE 110. The display device 215may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while theI/O device 220 may be a hardware component that enables the user toenter inputs. The display device 215 and the I/O device 220 may beseparate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen. Thetransceiver 225 may be a hardware component configured to establish aconnection with the 5G NR-RAN 120, the WLAN 122, etc. Accordingly, thetransceiver 225 may operate on a variety of different frequencies orchannels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies).

When connected to the network, the UE 110 may be configured to be in oneof a plurality of different operating states. One operating state may becharacterized as RRC idle state and another operating state may becharacterized as RRC connected state. RRC refers to the radio resourcecontrol (RRC) protocols. Those skilled in the art will understand thatwhen the UE 110 is in an RRC connected state, the UE 110 and the networkmay be configured to exchange information and/or data. The exchange ofinformation and/or data may allow the UE 110 to perform functionalitiesavailable via the network connection. Further, those skilled in the artwill understand that when the UE 110 is connected to the network and inRRC idle state the UE 110 is generally not exchanging data with thenetwork and radio resources are not being assigned to the UE 110 withinthe network. However, when the UE 110 is in RRC idle state, the UE 110may monitor for information and/or data transmitted by the network(e.g., WUS, paging, etc.).

Another operating state may be characterized as RRC inactive state. InRRC inactive state, the UE 110 maintains an RRC connection whileminimizing signaling and power consumption. Similar to RRC idle state,when the UE 110 is connected to the network and in RRC inactive statethe UE 110 is generally not exchanging data with the network. When theUE 110 is in RRC inactive state, the UE 110 may still monitor forinformation and/or data transmitted by the network (e.g., WUS, paging,etc.). However, any reference to RRC connected state, RRC idle state andRRC inactive state is merely provided for illustrative purposes, theexemplary embodiments may apply to any suitable operating state for theUE 110.

When the UE 110 is camped on a cell and in an RRC idle state or an RRCinactive state, the UE 110 may not be able to exchange data with thenetwork. To exchange data with the network the UE 110 may transitionfrom the RRC idle state to the RRC connected state. For example, whilein RRC idle state or inactive state the UE 110 may listen forinformation such as but not limited to, primary synchronization signals(PSS) and secondary synchronization signals (SSS), Master InformationBlock (MIB), broadcast messages, System Information Block (SIB), WUS,paging messages, etc. In response, the UE 110 may issue a request to thenetwork that indicates that the UE 110 wants to be moved to the RRCconnected state. A successful transition from the RRC idle state or RRCinactive state to RRC connected state may include the exchange ofmessages between the UE 110 and the cell of the network. In the RRCconnected state, a network context may be established between the cellof first network and the UE 110. Thus, the UE 110 may be assigned radioresources and the UE 110 may be able to exchange data with the network.

When in RRC idle state or RRC inactive state, the UE 110 may beconfigured with a DRX cycle. As indicated above, the DRX cycle mayinclude a PO during which the UE 110 may monitor for paging. Inaccordance with legacy operation, the UE 110 may enter the active modeof data exchange processing and monitor a PO regardless of whether apaging transmission is performed by the network during the PO. Theexemplary embodiments reduce the power consumption associated withlegacy operations by implementing wake-up signaling that may be used tocontrol UE 110 paging reception behavior.

The exemplary embodiments are also described with regard to a pagingmechanism that supports multiple beam operation. For multiple beamoperation, the PO may include a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions thateach include one or more time slots where downlink control information(DCI) may be transmitted. The length of the PO may correspond to oneperiod of beam sweeping and the UE 110 may assume that a paging messageis include in all beams of the beam sweeping pattern. The exemplaryembodiments will describe how the wake-up signaling may be used inconjunction with a paging mechanism that supports multiple beamoperation.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary timing diagram 300 for a WUS occasionaccording to various exemplary embodiments. FIG. 3 will be describedwith regard to the network arrangement 100 of FIG. 1 and the UE 110 ofFIG. 2 . The timing diagram 300 provides a general overview of howwake-up signaling may be used in conjunction with a paging mechanism. Aspecific example from the perspective of the UE 110 is provided belowwith regard to the method 400 of FIG. 4 .

The timing diagram 300 includes a line 310 that represents time.Initially, consider a scenario in which the UE 110 is camped on the gNB120A and operating in an RRC idle state. During a first time duration312, a synchronization signal blocks (SSB) burst may be transmitted bythe gNB 120A. In this example, the SSB burst includes a first SSB 301, asecond SSB 302, a third SSB 303 and a fourth SSB 304. In someembodiments, each SSB 301-304 may correspond to a different beam withinthe beam sweeping pattern. The UE 110 may then select a beam to utilizefor WUS and paging reception based on one or more of the SSBs 301-304.

During a second time duration 314, a WUS occasion 320 is scheduled.Similar to the concept of the PO occasion, the UE 110 is configured tomonitor for a WUS during the WUS occasion 320.

The network may transmit a WUS during the WUS occasion 320. In someembodiments, downlink control information (DCI) based wake-up signalingmay be implemented. In this configuration, the WUS occasion 320 mayrepresent a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions and may include multipletime slots (e.g., subframe or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(OFDM) symbol) during which the WUS DCI may be transmitted. Within theWUS occasion 320, each monitoring occasion is associated with one of theSSBs 301-304. For multiple beam operation, the UE 110 may assume thatthe same WUS is repeated in all transmitted beams within the same WUSoccasion. The UE 110 may select one of the beams based on anyappropriate criteria.

During the WUS occasion 320, the UE 110 may monitor for WUS DCI. Themonitoring may be performed based on WUS specific radio networktemporary identifier (RNTI), the UE 110 paging RNTI (P-RNTI) or anyother appropriate indicator included in the WUS. In response to the WUSDCI, the UE 110 may decide whether to monitor for paging or use thesleep mode of inactivity during the subsequent PO 330.

In other embodiments, reference signal based wake-up signaling may beimplemented. In this configuration, the WUS occasion 320 may includemultiple time slots during which one or more WUS reference signals maybe transmitted. Within the WUS occasion 320, each monitoring occasion isassociated with one of the SSBs 301-304. For multiple beam operation,the UE 110 may assume that the same WUS is repeated in all transmittedbeams within the same WUS occasion. The UE 110 may select one of thebeams based on any appropriate criteria.

During the WUS occasion 320, the UE 110 may monitor for a WUS referencesignal. In response to the WUS reference signal, the UE 110 may decidewhether to monitor for paging or use the sleep mode of inactivity duringthe subsequent monitoring occasion 330.

FIG. 4 shows a method 400 for WUS and paging reception according tovarious exemplary embodiments. FIG. 4 will be described with regard tothe network arrangement 100 of FIG. 1 and the UE 110 of FIG. 2 .

Initially, consider a scenario in which the UE 110 is camped on the gNB120A of the 5G NR RAN 120 and operating in an RRC idle state or an RRCinactive state. The UE 110 may be further configured with a DRX cyclethat includes one or more POs.

In 405, the UE 110 determines a WUS occasion location in time and a POlocation in time. For example, the UE 110 may utilize legacy and/orstandards based techniques to determine when a PO is scheduled to occur.In some embodiments, the WUS may be located at a predetermined offsetfrom the PO and thus, once the PO is known the WUS occasion may bederived. In another example, the WUS occasion and/or PO location may beexplicitly or implicitly indicated by the network using any appropriatetype of signaling. Specific examples of the relationship between the WUSoccasion and the PO will be described below with regard to FIGS. 5-9 .

In 410, the UE 110 selects a beam to utilize for WUS reception. Forinstance, within the context of the timing diagram 300, the UE 110 mayreceive the SSBs 301-304. As mentioned above, each of the SSBs 301-304may correspond to a different beam. The UE 110 may then select a beambased on one or more of the SSBs 301-304. The above example is merelyprovided for illustrative purposes, the UE 110 may select a beam toutilize for WUS reception based on any appropriate basis.

In 415, the UE 110 receives a WUS during the WUS occasion. As mentionedabove, either DCI based wake-up signaling or reference signal basedwake-up signaling may be implemented. Although not depicted in themethod 400, there may be scenarios in which the UE 110 does not receivea WUS during the WUS occasion. If this scenario occurs, in someembodiments, the UE 110 may monitor for paging in the conventionalmanner. In other embodiments, the network may configure a default state(e.g., wake-up or sleep) that the UE 110 is to utilize during the PO viaRRC signaling or any other appropriate type of signaling.

In 420, the UE 110 determines the contents of the WUS. For example, theWUS may indicate that a paging transmission intended for the UE 110 isto be performed during the corresponding PO. In another example, the WUSmay indicate that a paging transmission is not scheduled for the UE 110.As will be explained in more detail below, the WUS may also include morespecific information regarding the corresponding PO and/or pagingtransmission.

In 425, the UE 110 may operate in accordance with the contents of theWUS during the corresponding PO. For example, if the WUS received in 420indicated that a paging transmission intended for the UE 110 is to beperformed during the PO, the UE 110 may wake-up and enter the activemode of data exchange processing during the PO to monitor for the pagingtransmission. In some embodiments, the WUS may indicate to the UE 110only paging DCI is to be monitored for short message reception. In otherembodiments, the WUS may indicate to the UE 110 that both paging DCI andthe PDSCH are to be monitored.

To provide another example, if the WUS received in 420 indicated that apaging transmission is not scheduled for the PO, the UE 110 may use thesleep mode of inactivity and conserve power during the PO. Thus, the WUSmay control the paging reception behavior of the UE 110.

The WUS may also be used to include more specific information regardingthe upcoming PO and/or paging transmission. In some embodiments, the WUSmay be configured to include an indication of the purpose of theupcoming paging transmission, e.g., system informationupdate/modification, ETWS/CMAS indication, paging message, etc. Thisindication may provide the basis for how the UE 110 operates during thePO. To provide an example, if the WUS indicates that the upcoming PO isto be used for paging message transmission, the UE 110 may monitor thePDCCH using P-RNTI to detect the scheduled paging message during the PO.To provide another example, if the WUS indicates that the correspondingPO is to be used for a paging transmission indicating a systeminformation update or an emergency message, the UE 110 may use the sleepmode of inactivity during the PO. Since the UE 110 is already aware ofwhat the paging transmission is going to indicate, it would be redundantto receive this indication during the PO. Instead, the UE 110 mayconserve power during the PO and perform the normal operations forsystem information update or emergency message reception.

In some embodiments, the WUS may be configured to include informationsuch as a service type, an access type, a paging type and/or networkslicing information. This information may provide the basis for how theUE 110 operates during the PO. To provide an example, the WUS contentmay indicate that the corresponding paging transmission is related tonon-third generation partnership program (non-3GPP) access. If the UE110 does not support non-3GPP access, the UE 110 does not need tomonitor the PO because a paging transmission corresponding to non-3GPPaccess is irrelevant to the UE 110. In another example, the WUS contentmay indicate that the corresponding paging transmission is related tovoice services. If the UE 110 is not configured for voice services ordoes not intend to access voice services at this time, the UE 110 doesnot need to monitor the PO because a paging transmission correspondingto voice services is irrelevant to the UE 110. Those skilled in the artwill understand that this technique may be applicable to any othernetwork service type.

In a further example, the WUS content may indicate that the paging typeis RAN initiated. Since RAN initiated paging type is relevant to RRCinactive state, the UE 110 may monitor the PO if the UE 110 is operatingin RRC inactive state and not monitor the PO if the UE 110 is operatingin RRC idle state. Alternatively, the WUS content may indicate that thepaging type is core network initiated. Since core network initiatedpaging type is relevant to RRC idle state, the UE 110 may monitor the POif the UE 110 is operating in RRC idle state and not monitor the PO ifthe UE 110 is operating in RRC inactive state.

In another example, the WUS content may indicate that the pagingtransmission is associated with a particular network slice. If the UE110 is configured to support the relevant slicing ID or network sliceselection assistance information (NSSAI), the UE 110 may monitor forpaging during the PO. Otherwise, the UE 110 may sleep during the PO. Theabove examples are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments inany way and are merely provide for illustrative purposes. The UE 110 mayuse information such as service type, access type, paging type and/ornetwork slicing information in any appropriate manner to determinewhether to utilize the active mode of data exchange processing duringthe PO or the sleep mode of inactivity during the PO.

In some embodiments, the WUS may be configured to include UEinformation. This information may provide the basis for how the UE 110operates during the PO. For example, the WUS may include the full UE IDfor the UE that is the intended recipient of the paging transmission. Ifthe UE ID is relevant to the UE 110, the UE 110 may monitor the PO.Otherwise, the UE 110 may use the sleep mode of inactivity during thePO. In another example, the WUS may include a partial UE ID (e.g., (n)least significant bits (LSBs) of the UE ID) for the UE that is theintended recipient of the paging transmission. If the partial UE ID isrelevant to the UE 110, the UE 110 may monitor the PO. Otherwise, the UE110 may use the sleep mode of inactivity during the PO. In a furtherexample, the WUS may include a WUS group ID. In some embodiments, the UE110 may be provisioned with the WUS group ID via non-access stratum(NAS) signaling or RRC signaling. In other embodiments, the UE 110 maygenerate a WUS group ID using predefined rule. Regardless of how the UE110 derives the WUS group ID, If the WUS group ID is relevant to the UE110, the UE 110 may monitor the PO. Otherwise, the UE 110 may use thesleep mode of inactivity during the PO.

The method 400 demonstrated how the contents of the WUS may be used tocontrol the paging reception behavior of the UE 110. The following FIGS.5-9 are provided to demonstrate the different ways in which one or moreWUS occasions may be associated with one or more POs.

FIG. 5 illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasionand a PO when one WUS is configured to control one PO for one paginggroup according to various exemplary embodiments. FIG. 5 includes threetiming diagrams 510, 520, 530 that each correspond to a differentconfiguration.

In some embodiments, the WUS occasion may be located a preconfiguredoffset from the PO. The timing diagram 510 includes a line 511 thatrepresents time. The timing diagram also shows a WUS occasion 512preceding its corresponding PO 514 by a preconfigured offset 513 and WUSoccasion 516 preceding its corresponding PO 518 by the preconfiguredoffset 517.

In some embodiments, for each PF or paging DRX cycle, all WUSs aretransmitted before all POs. The timing diagram 520 includes a line 521that represents a time duration of a single PF. The timing diagram alsoshows a WUS occasions 522, 524 preceding their corresponding POs 526,528, respectively.

In some embodiments, a WUS channel is located before its correspondingmonitoring occasion for the same beam. The timing diagram 530 includes aline 531 that represents time. The timing diagram 530 includes a PO 540and within the PO 540 shows four WUS occasions 541-544 each precedingtheir respective monitoring occasion 545-548.

To utilize the configurations shown in the timing diagrams 510-530, theUE 110 may initially determine PO location using legacy techniques. Insome embodiments, the WUS occasion may be associated with thecorresponding PO according to RRC configuration. In other embodiments,the WUS occasion is the closest WUS occasion in front of the correspondPO. To provide an example, the WUS occasion 512 is associated with thePO 514 and the WUS occasion 516 is associated with the PO 516 in thetiming diagram. As mentioned above with regard to the method 400, theWUS received during the WUS occasion may be used to control UE 110paging reception behavior, e.g., active mode of data exchange processingduring the PO or sleep mode of inactivity during the PO.

FIG. 6 illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasionand a PO when one WUS is configured to control multiple POs for onepaging group according to various exemplary embodiments. FIG. 6 includesa timing diagram 610.

In some embodiments, a WUS occasion may be associated with (N) POs. Thetiming diagram 610 shows a line 611 that represents time. In thisexample, a first WUS occasion 612 is associated with two POs 614-616 andWUS occasion 618 is associated with three POs 620-624. The number of POs(N) and the identity of the POs may be configured by RRC signaling orindicated with the WUS.

To utilize the configuration shown in the timing diagram 610, the UE 110may initially determine its PO locations and WUS occasion location. Ifthe WUS indicates that the UE 110 is to wake-up for paging monitoring,the UE 110 may wakeup and enter the active mode of data exchangeprocessing to monitor the N POs. If the WUS indicates that the UE 110 isto sleep, the UE 110 will sleep and not monitor the N POs. Within the NPOs, the UE 110 will not monitor WUS occasions. After N consecutive POs,the UE 110 will resume monitoring WUS occasions.

FIG. 7 illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasionand a PO when one WUS is configured to control one PO for multiplepaging groups according to various exemplary embodiments. FIG. 7includes a timing diagram 710.

In some embodiments, a WUS may be used to indicate a wake-up/sleep statefor multiple paging groups. The timing diagram 710 includes a line 711that represents time. In this example, the WUS occasion 712 is shown toinclude a WUS that is associated with PO 714 and PO 716. The PO 714 isassigned to a first paging group and the PO 716 is assigned to a seconddifferent paging group. However, reference to two paging groups ismerely provided for illustrative purposes, this configuration may beused for any appropriate one to (N) paging groups mapping.

To utilize the configuration shown in the timing diagram 710, the UE 110may initially determine its PO location and WUS occasion location. Insome embodiments, the WUS may indicate a common wake-up/sleep state formultiple paging groups. Thus, if the WUS includes a wake-up indicationthe UEs of both paging groups will wake-up and enter the active mode ofdata exchange processing during their respective POs. In otherembodiments, the WUS may indicate individual wake-up/sleep state foreach paging group. For example, the WUS may include a set of bits. Afirst subset of one or more bits may be used to indicate whether a firstpaging group is to wake-up or sleep during its corresponding PO and asecond subset of one or more bits may be used to indicate whether asecond paging group is to wake-up or sleep during its corresponding PO.

FIG. 8 illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasionand a PO when one WUS is configured to control multiple POs for multiplepaging groups according to various exemplary embodiments. FIG. 8includes a timing diagram 810.

The timing diagram 810 includes a line 811 that represents time. The WUSoccasion 812 may correspond to (N) paging groups and (x) consecutive POsfor each paging groups. The timing diagram 810 shows POs 814, 816 thatcorrespond to a first paging group and POs 818, 820 that correspond to asecond paging group.

In this example, the UE 110 is in the first paging group. Thus, the UE110 may operate in accordance with the WUS during POs 814, 816 (e.g.,(x) consecutive POs). Similar to the examples shown in FIG. 6 , withinthe (x) consecutive paging group POs, the UE 110 will not monitor WUSoccasions. After the (x) consecutive POs, the UE 110 will resumemonitoring WUS occasions.

The UEs of the second paging group may operate in accordance with thecontents of the WUS. Similar to the example shown in FIG. 7 , in someembodiments, the WUS may indicate a common wake-up/sleep state formultiple paging groups. Thus, if the WUS includes a wake-up indicationthe UEs of both paging groups will wake-up and enter the active mode ofdata exchange processing during their respective POs. In otherembodiments, the WUS may indicate individual wake-up/sleep state foreach paging group. For example, the WUS may include a set of bits. Afirst subset of one or more bits may be used to indicate whether a firstpaging group is to wake-up or sleep during its corresponding PO and asecond subset of one or more bits may be used to indicate whether asecond paging group is to wake-up or sleep during its corresponding PO.

FIG. 9 illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasionand a PO when multiple WUS occasions are configured to control one POaccording to various exemplary embodiments. FIG. 9 includes a timingdiagram 910.

The timing diagram 910 includes a line 911 that represents time. In thisexample, the PO 912 is associated with a WUS occasion set 920 thatincludes multiple WUS occasions 922-925.

During operation, the UE 110 may determine its PO location using legacytechniques. The UE 110 may then determine the WUS occasion set 920location. Within the WUS occasion set 920, the UE 110 may find its WUSoccasion based on its UE ID (e.g., 5G S-temporary mobile subscriberidentity (TMSI) or any other appropriate UE ID). The WUS occasion indexmay be set to equal to UE ID mod N. For example, if there are four WUSoccasions in the WUS occasion set, the LSB 2 bits of the UE ID is theWUS occasion index within the associated WUS occasion set.

To provide an example, consider a scenario in which eight UEs are in thesame paging group and configured to use the WUS occasion set 920 and thePO 912. In this example, WUS occasion 922 is assigned to UE1 and UE5,WUS occasion 923 is assigned to UE 2 and UE 6, WUS occasion 924 isassigned to UE 3 and UE 7 and WUS occasion 925 is assigned to UE 4 andUE 8. If WUS occasion 922 indicates wake-up UE 1 and UE 5 will monitorfor paging during PO 912, if WUS occasion 923 indicates sleep UE 2 andUE 6 will sleep during the PO 912, if WUS occasion 924 indicates wake-upUE 3 and UE 7 will monitor for paging during PO 912 and if WUS occasion925 indicates sleep UE 4 and UE 8 will sleep during the PO 912.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-describedexemplary embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software orhardware configuration or combination thereof. An exemplary hardwareplatform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, forexample, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, aWindows OS, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having anoperating system such as iOS, Android, etc. The exemplary embodiments ofthe above described method may be embodied as a program containing linesof code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumthat, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor.

Although this application described various embodiments each havingdifferent features in various combinations, those skilled in the artwill understand that any of the features of one embodiment may becombined with the features of the other embodiments in any manner notspecifically disclaimed or which is not functionally or logicallyinconsistent with the operation of the device or the stated functions ofthe disclosed embodiments.

It is well understood that the use of personally identifiableinformation should follow privacy policies and practices that aregenerally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmentalrequirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular,personally identifiable information data should be managed and handledso as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use,and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications may be made in the present disclosure, without departingfrom the spirit or the scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intendedthat the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of thisdisclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claimsand their equivalent.

What is claimed:
 1. A method, comprising: at a base station:transmitting a message to a user equipment (UE) comprising a group ID,wherein the group ID is assigned to a group of UEs by a network andindicated via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling; transmitting one ormore synchronization signals, wherein the synchronization signalscorrespond to a wake-up signal (WUS) that is to be transmitted to the UEwhen the UE is operating in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cyclethat includes a paging occasion (PO); and transmitting the WUS to atleast the UE during a WUS occasion, wherein the WUS indicates that theUE is to utilize an active mode during the PO when the WUS includes thegroup ID and the UE is to utilize a sleep mode during the PO when theWUS does not include the group ID.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theWUS is scheduled via one of a WUS specific radio network temporaryidentifier (RNTI) for the UE or a paging radio network temporaryidentifier (P-RNTI) for the UE.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theWUS is transmitted as a reference signal or downlink control information(DCI).
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the WUS to the UEincludes transmitting multiple beams during the WUS occasion that eachinclude the same WUS.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the WUS occasionis associated with the PO based on a predefined timing offset.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the paging DRX cycle includes multiple WUSoccasions and each WUS occasion is located in time prior to any POincluded in a paging frame.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE isincluded in a first paging group, and wherein the WUS occasion isassociated with the first paging group and a second different paginggroup.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the WUS includes i) anindication that is common to both the first paging group and the secondpaging group or ii) a first indication for the first paging group and asecond different indication for the second paging group.
 9. The methodof claim 7, wherein the WUS occasion is included in a WUS occasion setand wherein each WUS occasion in the WUS occasion set is associated withthe same PO.
 10. A base station, comprising: a transceiver configured tocommunicate with a user equipment (UE); and a processor configured toperform operations, the operations comprising: transmitting a message toa user equipment (UE) comprising a group ID, wherein the group ID isassigned to a group of UEs by a network and indicated via non-accessstratum (NAS) signaling; transmitting one or more synchronizationsignals, wherein the synchronization signals correspond to a wake-upsignal (WUS) that is to be transmitted to the UE when the UE isoperating in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle that includesa paging occasion (PO); and transmitting the WUS to at least the UEduring a WUS occasion, wherein the WUS indicates that the UE is toutilize an active mode during the PO when the WUS includes the group IDand the UE is to utilize a sleep mode during the PO when the WUS doesnot include the group ID.
 11. The base station of claim 10, wherein theWUS is scheduled via one of a WUS specific radio network temporaryidentifier (RNTI) for the UE or a paging radio network temporaryidentifier (P-RNTI) for the UE.
 12. The base station of claim 10,wherein the WUS is transmitted as a reference signal or downlink controlinformation (DCI).
 13. The base station of claim 10, whereintransmitting the WUS to the UE includes transmitting multiple beamsduring the WUS occasion that each include the same WUS.
 14. The basestation of claim 10, wherein the UE is included in a first paging group,and wherein the WUS occasion is associated with the first paging groupand a second different paging group.
 15. The base station of claim 14,wherein the WUS includes i) an indication that is common to both thefirst paging group and the second paging group or ii) a first indicationfor the first paging group and a second different indication for thesecond paging group.
 16. An integrated circuit, comprising: transmittinga message to a user equipment (UE) comprising a group ID, wherein thegroup ID is assigned to a group of UEs by a network and indicated vianon-access stratum (NAS) signaling; circuitry configured to transmit oneor more synchronization signals, wherein the synchronization signalscorrespond to a wake-up signal (WUS) that is to be transmitted to the UEwhen the UE is operating in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cyclethat includes a paging occasion (PO); and circuitry configured totransmit the WUS to at least the UE during a WUS occasion, wherein theWUS indicates that the UE is to utilize an active mode during the POwhen the WUS includes the group ID and the UE is to utilize a sleep modeduring the PO when the WUS does not include the group ID.
 17. Theintegrated circuit of claim 16, wherein the WUS is transmitted as areference signal or downlink control information (DCI).
 18. Theintegrated circuit of claim 16, wherein transmitting the WUS to the UEincludes transmitting multiple beams during the WUS occasion that eachinclude the same WUS.
 19. The integrated circuit of claim 16, whereinthe UE is included in a first paging group, and wherein the WUS occasionis associated with the first paging group and a second different paginggroup.
 20. The integrated circuit of claim 18, wherein the WUS includesi) an indication that is common to both the first paging group and thesecond paging group or ii) a first indication for the first paging groupand a second different indication for the second paging group.